1. Introduction

Why is a large writing task part of an electronics course?

Much of your professional time will be spent reading articles, datasheets, and other documents related to your “real” job. These documents are also written by engineers in your same discipline.

1.1. Everyone does it

As part of the on-boarding process for a company in the electronics industry, a fresh graduate may spend the first 6 months or more in a few different working groups. You learn about the major technologies in use in that business unit through this process and begin to understand the various applications that customers use your company’s products for.

To help this process, it is common to write an article for a trade journal about a technology or electronic component that is handled by your group. Your research for such an article provides a framework for your learning, lets others know about the (good!) products available from your company, and provides readers with the knowledge required to properly select and use these parts.

For example, see the articles written by Valpo Electrical Engineering alumnus James Lockridge '17 soon after graduation when working for Texas Instruments: Electronic Design author: James Lockridge

1.2. Myriad components

The Wikipedia page for “Electronic component” lists 10 types of resistors and 19 types of capacitors. Each of these variations exist because they are useful in certain applications and conditions. The design engineer uses knowledge of all of these characteristics and selects the appropriate part variant which best balances the requirements and specifications of the system.

It is impossible to learn about, let alone survey, all of the types and variations of components used in electronic design. The parts featured in the electronics-related courses (ECE 340, 341, 429, 472) instead cover the most common and important devices. As the semester progresses, students learn how to read and interpret discipline-specific documentation through examples and out of necessity for specific tasks.

Each student will select or be assigned a unique topic. During the process of peer reviewing articles, you will read several articles about different components and increase the breadth of your electronics knowledge.

2. hw04 - Read trade journal articles

You will be given a selection of (links to) articles from industry publications. These are good examples of the topic, scope, and audience that is expected for your writing.

You will also search for and read more articles in topics that you find interesting. This will form the basis for selecting a topic to research further in preparation for writing. These tasks will happen throughout the semester, but will be mostly completed in the first four weeks.

3. hw08 - Research topic

The second phase of the project is selecting a topic for your article that is both personally interesting and of appropriate scope. The specific topic will be chosen from a suggestion list in collaboration with the instructor.

The example articles serve as your guide to identifying the type of information needed. It also provides a general outline for the structure of your article. This is a great help to direct your research.

  • What is this component’s typical use?

  • How does this variant differ from others?

  • What disadvanages does this part have when used in certain circuits?

  • What characteristics of this part make it useful?

  • What applications are this part appropriate for?

  • What criteria should a design engineer use to select specific models?

  • Who manufacturers this part?

  • What new technologies are being developed to improve these parts?

4. hw11 - Outline

At this point in your education, you are likely familiar with the deja vu feeling when searching for specific information about a topic. Read enough of the search results while paying attention to dates and you can begin to trace the flow of information from only a few truly valuable sources of information to the may articles that merely parrot (with citations or not, sadly) that information.

Submit an outline of your article which reflects the structure of your article. It should have one sentence representing the content of a paragraph in the final article. This should almost read like an ultra-compact version of your paper but presented as a hierarchical list.

5. hw15 - First draft

This is a complete article which covers all of your intended content. It must not include placeholders for future content (this was the purpose of the outline). Your instructor will review this draft using the rubric below. They will also provide you with higher-level comments about the structure or other information an article about your topic should include.

Table 1. Rubric for Draft 1
(5) Exceeds (4) Meets (3) Partial (1) Insufficient (0) Missing

Introduction to the part’s electrical characteristics

Description of typical applications

Brief overview of the major manufacturers of this part

Part characteristics that make it useful in certain applications

Design criteria for selecting a specific part model

Technological history and recent improvements

6. hw19 - Second draft

Attach your first draft which instructor comments. Write a brief memorandum that describes how your new draft addresses those comments. This draft (without instructor comments) will then be reviewed by several of your peers. Feedback from this round of editing will be incorporated into your final article.

Table 2. Rubric for Draft 2
(5) Exceeds (4) Meets (3) Partial (1) Insufficient (0) Missing

Attached previous draft and memorandum addressing instructor comments and improvements made since the previous draft

Changes address the instructor comments as needed

Supporting tables or figures and are well-labeled and integrated in to the article’s discussion

References support the article and are appropriately authoritative

Draft is complete and ready for peer review

Reduction in grammatical errors including appropriate use of active and passive voice

7. hw21 - Peer reviews

You will be assigned 3-4 articles written by your peers. Similar to the instructor comments, you will review the papers for appropriate audience, discussion structure, and consistend use of language mechanics.

The quality of your review will be scored in this phase using a rubric filled out by the article author.

Table 3. Peer Review Rubric
(5) Exceeds (4) Meets (3) Partial (1) Insufficient (0) Missing

Introduction to the part’s electrical characteristics

Description of typical applications

Brief overview of the major manufacturers of this part

Part characteristics that make it useful in certain applications

Design criteria for selecting a specific part model

Technological history and recent improvements
Table 4. Quality of Peer Review Rubric
(5) Actionable (3) Present but unhelpful (1) Confusing (0) Missing

Comments identifying gaps in article flow or context

Grammar suggestions to clarify sentences

Feedback on reference selection and support

8. hw23 - Final article

Incorporate the feedback received from the peer review process into a final version of your article.

Attach a short memorandum describing the changes you made or a justification why some changes were not made.

Excellent articles may be submitted to an appropriate trade publication for consideration for publishing.

RUBRIC HERE

9. References

9.1. Representative Trade Publications

9.2. Manufacturer articles

Direct links to a manufacturer’s articles and application notes are difficult to specify. You can generally go to a home page and look for sections like Design Support, Support & training, Education, or Tools & Support.